Falling Star
by IntoTheWilds
Summary: AU: Ten years have passed and the body of a man who vanished a boy has reappeared in an appalling condition. He is a map work of abuse, evidence of a truly dark soul and sadly he is not alone. Others have been taken and run ragged SVU detectives Derek Morgan and Emily Prentiss have no idea what their next step will be...


**_EDITED:_**

**_DISCLAIMER: _**_I do not own Criminal Minds or its Characters!_

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE_**_: Ok I intended this to be an ongoing fic but after yet another verbal onslaught from my horrible sister, I just haven't the heart to continue this or write anything else for that matter. Sorry. _

_IntoTheWilds_

_xxx_

**_SUMMARY: _**_Ten years have passed and the body of a man who vanished a boy has reappeared in an appalling condition. He is a map work of abuse, evidence of a truly dark soul and sadly he is not alone. Others have been taken and run ragged SVU detectives Derek Morgan and Emily Prentiss have no idea what their next step will be..._

* * *

_"Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness." __  
**― **_**_Anne Frank_**

* * *

"Come on Jake, let's just go home!"

Jake laughed, waving his flash-light in the face of his cowering little brother.

"Don't be such a wimp Xander," Chided the thirteen year old, "We just gotta take a photo of us standing in the old Cemetery and then we're outta here."

"I can't believe you agreed to this!" Xander whined in protest, "You know Damien won't do as he promised, you'll never see that comic book."

Ignoring the moans and groans of his ten year old sibling, Jake trudged on until they came upon a large, long ago abandoned graveyard. It sat outside glistening New York and was nothing more than a mess of forgotten people. The gates were rusted, layers peeling away from the metal, leaving a pile of brown shavings upon the ground. Trees loomed over them, stooped old men and reaching forward with knarled hands made of oak and beech.

Grinning in delight, Jake pushed the gates open with a grunt and stepped aside to let Xander past first. The boy went in reluctantly, grumbling away, and stopped just feet inside, his flash-light casting a dusty glow over hundreds of gravestones that had been abandoned, each more decrepit then the last.

"Whoa," Jake gushed, "this is so cool!"

"Speak for yourself," snapped Xander grimly, "Come on Jake let's get this over with."

Grinning, the thirteen year old teen tucked his flashlight under his arm and fished out a disposable camera.

"Go stand over by that tomb Xander, till I get a picture."

"Sure," griped the boy dramatically, "send me on the suic—Gah!"

Catching his foot on what appeared to be a tree root; the boy of ten tumbled head over heels and landed in a disorderly heap right beside the tomb in question.

"Jesus Xander," Jake exclaimed rushing toward him and praying he hadn't broken something, "Are you okay?"

Disentangling himself from a mess of thick moss, brambles and broken stone, Xander groaned and grumbled, dragging himself upright. He would hurt like hell in the morning, and would no doubt have bruises and scrapes to explain to their mother. Oh joy.

"Damn tree root," snarled the ten year old, stomping toward it, "I'm gonna—Jake, Jake what's wrong?"

Jake stood with his back to him, and even in the moonlight Xander could see he was visibly trembling.

"S-stay back Xander," ordered the teenager meekly, "Don't c-come any closer!"

Fright became pure terrified. If big bad ass Jake was scared, then they were in serious trouble. Ignoring the common sense of his older brother, the boy moved closer and lifting his flashlight, Xander drowned out the night silence with a shrill scream.

* * *

-§-§-

* * *

Two am was a bitch of a time to be called out and when it was for something as morbid as death, it was worse. Even from the black and white, sirens blaring loudly, Detective Emily Prentiss could hear the strangled whimpers of children and her insides ran cold. Picking up the pace, the Detective cut through meandering cops, and the odd night-time gawker and stopped by a uniform who was desperately attempting to console two small boys who appeared completely unharmed.

"Detective Emily Prentiss, special victims," said the female brusquely flashing her badge, "What have we got?"

Officer Janet Peterson, a rookie and still green, both in experiences and a bit around the gills, dragged a hand through her choppy blonde hair, letting out an explosive breath. Twisting to look at Emily the short, stocky female looked grim, hardness in her crystal blue eyes.

"A mess Detective, that's what we've got," Janet said with a rough edge to her voice, face strained, "Two kids deciding to play the brave game in the old cemetery, they came across a body, a black haired, Caucasian male, between early to late twenties though it's a little hard to tell."

Following Janet through the thick under-growth, the dense, sickening smell of dead earth filling her nose, Prentiss kept a shrewd eye on her surroundings. Already, without seeing the victim, she had determined it the dump site.

No way was he killed here; it just didn't have that feel.

They didn't have to go too far. The victim lay awkwardly between clutters of gravestones, he was completely naked and in such a revolting condition that even Prentiss, a seasoned Detective was sickened right down to her bone marrow.

Janet hadn't been exaggerating. It was indeed a mess, a gruesome mess. There wasn't a single patch of the male's creamy skin that wasn't marked. His hair, what was left of it, was now just tuffs of a dirty mess, ruined by blood and God knew what else. His eyes were wide open, revealing large brown irises, and sweet Jesus his cheeks were tear stained. He wasn't dead that long.

"My God," Prentiss croaked, eyes taking in the grizzly affair, "He was held. See the ligature marks on his wrists, tied up more than once, by wire it looks like."

"You reckon he was held for a few hours?"

Prentiss shook her head, "Longer. His injuries, a lot of them are fresh, but look at his torso; those ones are faded, probably from a couple of years ago."

Snapping on a pair of gloves, the latex uncomfortable, Prentiss crouched and gently examined the body.

"Fractured pelvis by the looks of it, damage to his ribs and multiple contusions and abrasions, he fought back," Prentiss noted examining his finger nails, "We might get lucky with DNA."

The male was also in a severely emaciated condition, both wrists were broken and he was covered in marks that suggested torture. The inside of his thighs were red with blood, bruised and scratched by rather large hands. He was raped and violently. Turning the body over gently, keeping a hold of him, Prentiss couldn't blame the accompanying officer, when she let out a sharp groan and tore away, vomiting up a storm, before leaving the clearing altogether.

Never in all her years on the force had she ever seen such a violent act done to another person, but there it was.

He had died slowly, and painfully, brutally penetrated by and length of pipe of all things, blood blanketed the ground beneath him, and half way up his back the pipe had punctured through. Prentiss had a feeling when the medical examiner got at him, she'd find quite a few vital organs ruptured.

Tender, treating him as if he were a newborn, Prentiss settled the body and stood back up, eyes bright with a mix of sadness and fury.

"Whoever did that had a whole lot of rage going on."

Turning, Emily set her hard gaze on her partner Detective Derek Morgan. A barely contained fury licked behind those dark hues, and Prentiss knew her partner was wound to the last. Morgan did not take cruelty well, and this was as cruel as they—

"Well shit," Morgan cursed moving closer frown knitting between his brows, "Jesus Christ! I know who he is."

"What? Ah God, please don't—"

"No, not personally, his name is Ethan, a native to Las Vegas, along with a Dr Spencer Reid."

Prentiss's brown eyes widened, "Wait, that kid prodigy who was a Doctor by sixteen? Didn't he and another kid go missing ten years ago? They were never found."

"One and the same," Morgan answered dragging a hand over his head, "I don't believe it, after ten years. Jesus."

"Any next of kin," asked Emily.

"Eh, yeah, he has a sister living here last I heard, I'll get her address off the database."

"Yup, then we can ruin another life."

The fun never ended.

* * *

-§-§-

* * *

Jennifer Jareau lived on the Upper East Side, in a beautifully done up Townhouse that had been built back in eighteen ninety, and was eventually converted into seven separate apartments. It looked out at a lush garden, that someone had obviously took time to plant flowers in, and a beautiful Rottweiler lay sprawled next to a Dog house, her collar reading _Belle_ on the tag. Catching sight of them, brown eyes suddenly alert, the great big animal surged to her feet and padded toward them, probably wondering why there were strangers wondering around at nearly three in the morning. Prentiss took a nervous step back making Morgan chuckle.

"Not a dog lover?"

"Not of a breed that would eat you as soon as looked at you."

"Belle won't hurt you," a man said suddenly from behind them making both Detectives jump and whirl around.

The man was in his late twenties with a lovely New Orleans accent, stood there, watching them both suspiciously. He was handsome, yet beautiful at the same time, with sharply defined features, dusky coloured skin and bright warm eyes. His hair framed his angular face. Tall and slenderly muscled he had a grip on a thick length of chain, which was attached to the harness of a second, much bigger Rottweiler. The animal growled angrily.

"Easy Copper," The newcomer scolded, "Can I help you two?"

"Detective Prentiss and this is my Partner Detective Morgan," Prentiss said quickly to put the stranger at ease, flashing her badge, "We're looking for Jennifer Jareau."

The male immediately paled, swaying, his eyes widening.

"Y-you found them?" He croaked, his stomach lurching, "You found Ethan and Spencer?"

Morgan and Prentiss exchanged looks, Morgan asking, "You know them?"

"I, yes, sort of; Spencer was adopted into JJ's family after losing his parents. Ethan is also JJ's adopted brother—her parents had big hearts. I'm Will, I-I'm married to her," he shrugged running a shaking hand through his hair before letting out a shuddering breath, "Oh God, are they okay, are they hurt?"

There was no real way of easing such a blow, and the whole band aid method was the best way of dealing with it, but not outside on the middle of the street.

"Will, could we come in?" Emily asked gently.

Nodding numbly, Will undid Copper's harness, leaving the Dog to prance around with Belle. Commotion met the trio once inside. A kettle was on the hob, the hiss loud enough to be heard from the hall, and a TV could clearly be heard.

"A little late to be up, isn't it?" Morgan pointed out.

"JJ's six months pregnant," Will said with a fond smile, pulling out a tub of strawberry ice cream from a shopping bag he was carrying, "Cravings mean night time trips to the twenty-four our store twenty minutes from here."

"Will, Will you talking to Belle—oh," JJ stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, hand resting on a very round belly, slate grey eyes screaming exhaustion, "Um, isn't it a little late for company?"

Will was quick to go to his wife, and had a firm grip on her before telling JJ who they were. Like Will, she was quick to put two and two together and her legs immediately grew shaky. Crooning over her, Will helped JJ into the living-room, easing her onto the couch.

"Y-you found them?" The female asked in a tremulous tone, "A-Are they badly hurt, are they ok?"

And this was the part of the job, Emily really hated. Crouching, she took JJ's hand and said the words, the thirty-two year old would never forget.

"I'm very sorry Jennifer, but your Brother Ethan's body was found earlier tonight. I am so sorry for your loss."

Frozen, with a roaring in her ears, JJ couldn't process it. She could scarcely believe it, after ten years of hoping, praying and now here was the Police telling her, that all of it had been futile and one of her brothers had been found, nothing but an empty shell. The pain was quick to claw through the numb and letting out a strangled sob, the female shook her head frantically, before burying her face in her husband's chest, one slice of happy stolen from her, never to be seen again.

* * *

-§-§-

* * *

He woke with a start. The fact that he had slept at all was a shock, he rarely did, and he usually had to run himself to complete exhaustion before sleep ever came. When it did come it was dark, fitful and filled with memories that he tried to hide from during the day, but could never escape at night. Groggy, bones aching, twenty-eight year old Spencer Reid moved carefully. It didn't matter though; it still hurt, every inch of his abused body protesting. When a damp cloth was pressed to his shoulder, Spencer jumped with a pained hiss.

"Jesus Bobby," the scrawny male croaked, "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry Spencer," Bobby said with a shaky smile, carefully cleaning the deep bite mark on Spencer's shoulder, "Jesus he did a real number on you this time."

"I broke the rules," Spencer responded bitterly, "I deserved to be punished, or at least that's what he kept telling me."

Spencer winced, groaning when Bobby found a particularly tender part of flesh. The nineteen year old apologised softly. He hated to cause him any further discomfort, but the last thing Spencer needed was infection.

"You should've stayed out of it," Bobby told him gently.

Spencer angrily tore away from him, sucking in a breath when every inch of him screamed. It didn't, however, stop him from putting distance between himself and Bobby. It wasn't Bobby's fault. It was in fact sound advice, advice Spencer would normally follow, but not where Ethan was concerned. Ethan had angered him again and badly, to the point that Spencer knew he wouldn't let him live. Not this time and so he had tried to intervene, which almost got him killed too. Even now he could feel him, moving against his body and his stomach churned at the memory.

"Spencer," Bobby called gently from the bed, "Spencer please, I need to clean those gashes."

A few years ago Spencer might've welcomed the infection. The idea of septicaemia killing him was somewhat a blessing in disguise. But then _he_ kept bringing boys home and he and Ethan did their best to take the brunt of the abuse, anything to save them from the demonised creature that so loved to torture them and with Ethan dead there would be a newcomer soon, and with that in mind, he needed to be at his strongest.

Heading back toward the bed, Spencer sat and kept his hazel eyes on the floor while Bobby cleaned him up. Their 'home' consisted of one large room, a bucket for a toilet and a scatter of cots to sleep in, with not a single window. Altogether there were seven of them, well; six now with Ethan gone and out of them all Spencer and Ethan had been there the longest.

"What's the bet's he'll have a new kid with him tonight?" Croaked Andy Rogers from his cot across the room, Andy had been taken two years after Ethan and Spencer and had pretty much numbed to it at this stage.

He also had a death wish in Spencer's opinion, hence why, since last week, he was sporting a broken wrist and a fractured femur bone after pissing off their _Master_.

"Does it matter Andy?" Spencer snapped eyes dark.

"Easy Reid, what dick crawled up your ass?"

The rage was quick, hot and oh so very welcome. Spencer was across the room before Bobby could stop him and with one good punch had broken Andy's nose.

"Do you really want to cross me right now Andy," Spencer hissed pushing him hard against the wall, "do you? He hasn't touched you in two months, so count your damn blessings, when the rest of us haven't been so lucky!"

After one more shove to the ribs, Spencer climbed off of him and stalked towards his bed shooing Bobby away. He'd deal with his injuries on his own. Lifting his head, the male caught sight of himself in a sheet of mirror pressed up against the far wall. My God he was a sight. Ten years without proper nourishment had left his body severely emaciated; his brunette hair hung to his depleted waist in a ratted mess and the rest of him was either covered in bruises or grime. Lifting the cloth Bobby had left, Spencer began cleaning a particularly nasty cut on his left side.

No one uttered a word about him hitting Andy, because the truth of it was, they all knew the idiot deserved it. Spencer was hurting deep into his soul and didn't need anyone else adding to his personal hell and only when he was sure of a private moment did Spencer fall apart and finally let the tears come.

* * *

-§-§-

* * *

Emily and Morgan made their way briskly through cool grey hallways down into the lower levels of the morgue. The odd Physician passed them by, barely paying attention to them, noses buried in numerous different files, while the odd Joe carted a body along for their final appointment. In the last room on the left the body of Ethan waited for them in the care of Melody Logan, her dark eyes heavy with emotion.

"This kid was sent to hell and back again," said Melody without even looking up, reaching for a small implement of some kind, "Fractured pelvis, which shows signs of previous fractures and breaks. Two broken wrists, two broken ribs with one cracked and x-ray's show numerous healed breaks and fractures.

He is severely emaciated, with hundreds of contusions and abrasions, new and old littering his body and enough scars to make even me cringe."

With a sigh Melody stepped back dragging a hand through her curly mane of hair, before setting her hard gaze on the two waiting detectives.

"He was alive when the pipe penetrated him; the rupturing of his rectum and quite a few major organs is what evidentially killed him and—Jesus Christ Emily, I have never seen anything like this."

Melody's sudden burst of temper was a surprise, but understandable. In all their years neither Emily nor Morgan had ever seen anyone killed so brutally.

"Was it his first rape?" Emily asked after a moment, though she knew full well what the answer would be.

"No," Melody answered sadly, "The boy has been raped numerous times and viciously. Normally old evidence would not show, but scars tell quite a bit in this line of work."

"Jesus," Morgan cursed angrily, "And this creep most likely has Spencer Reid too."

"Most likely," Emily said dragging a hand through her dark hair, every inch of her screaming frustration, "We need to look through the database. This kid was held for years and if the guy has Spencer Reid as well, then there were others, I bet my badge on it."

"A trail of bodies," Morgan said with disgust, "Lovely."

"What about the DNA?" Emily asked, hopeful.

"An unknown male," Melody responded while tugging off a pair of latex gloves, "He's not in the database and without someone to compare it to I cannot tell you who it belongs too."

Well, of course it wouldn't have been that easy, but it didn't stop Emily getting pissed off. She had been hoping to solve this one quick, because she knew deep down this would not be the first body. There would be others and if not other bodies, definitely another boy being snatched and that just didn't sit right.

"Damn it," the female hissed angrily, brown eyes flashing with temper, "this sort of crap happens all the time, but this—"

"Is too much like Quinn," Morgan finished a grim look changing his features as he recalled a rather disturbing case he and Emily had stopped.

He had been kidnapping girls from an extremely young age, holding and raping them and every so often a body would crop up. For a time no one thought to put two and two together, that is until Emily spotted a pattern between the girls and from there it had been like following breadcrumbs. But God, what they had found had been brutal. A warehouse and a bunch of women all in different stages of torture, some with missing limbs while the deceased hung from hooks, looming over the living like a gruesome premonition of what was to come.

Melody just about suppressed a shudder at the memory. Almost thirty women over a period of five years, it had been like a scene from a horror movie and this was just as bad.

After what seemed like a decade of silence, flat cop eyes on Ethan's face, Emily looked over to her partner and sighed.

"Come on, I want to question the boys who found him. Maybe they saw something that could help us."

She was doubtful, but there was no crime in hoping.

* * *

-§-§-

* * *

Everything was remarkable in its splendour. The buildings of New York were huge, looming over head, casting shadows upon the sidewalk in a mix of greys and blacks and the hustle and bustle was just wonderful. Sixteen year old Jaden Thomas practically skipped ahead of his friends, brown eyes wide with delight a small burst of laughter escaping him.

"Come on you slow pokes," the teenager called, "We've got so much sightseeing to get done!"

Simon, Jaden's best friend, huffed and puffed as he ran to catch up with the exuberant boy, followed by the other two of their group, Jesse and Lexi, who unlike Simon, weren't the least bit bothered about chasing after the ever energetic Jaden.

"Wow," Lexi gushed, golden eyes lit up as she looked about, "New York is truly something else."

It was the first time any of them had set foot in the big apple and they were positively wowed. Three weeks, they were on holidays for three weeks and had only just arrived. So the fun had yet to begin. Stood in the centre of Manhattan they decided to head to Central Park. The four cut through traffic, earning themselves a few blared horns and the odd angry curse. Jaden took it all in stride, laughing at those shaking fists and kept on going.

It was early morning, but even then the park was pretty full. Runners whizzed by, either with buds in their ears, or dogs padding along beside them and the odd one on a bike or rollerblades sped along the paths that weaved through-out the park.

Birds twittered, a squirrel chomped away on a nut and all in all it was a rather beautiful sight.

"It really is beautiful here," Simon commented, fixing his pack on his shoulder silvery grey eyes taking it all in.

"So where do you wanna go Jaden?" Lexi asked, smiling at one of her oldest friends, gold hues warm.

"Hmm," the teen pondered before cheekily grinning and saying, "let's just go where our feet takes us!"

And before any of his companions could react the teenager took off, a burst of laughter escaping him. Chortling along, Jesse, Simon and Lexi bolted after him, feet pounding against the dirt. It was easy to get separated in the crowds and between the winding paths, so before they knew it, Jaden was out of sight.

Sniggering from a cluster of trees, the teenager watched his friends search for him. Lexi's hands were planted firmly upon her hips and by that gesture alone, Jaden knew he was in trouble.

"Oh well," Jaden chuckled, "it was fun while it lasted."

"I'm sure it was."

Jaden spun around, brown eyes falling on a man much bigger then he was. His insides turned cold and before he could call out, a syringe bit into his neck and it was suddenly lights out.

* * *

-§-§-

* * *

Jake opened up the front door to his parent's pretty brownstone and looked up in surprise at the two cops who had brought them home the night before.

"Hello," the teenager croaked tiredly.

Morgan smiled down at the boy, "Hey Jake. Is your parent's home?"

"Mom is, dad's at work," The boy answered before turning and hollering, "MOM!"

"Jacob Theodore Wilson, what have I said about—Oh!" The peeved woman stopped mid scolding her jade green eyes widening at the sight of the company upon the doorstep, "I'm sorry, can I help you?"

"Sorry to bother you Mrs Wilson," Emily said politely, "I'm Detective Prentiss and this is my partner Detective Morgan. We were hoping to have a chat with your sons if that's alright?"

"This is about last night?" She asked, hand upon Jake's shoulder, eyes suddenly steely, "That uniformed cop already asked questions."

"Yes," Morgan said gently, "but we need to ask more. I know you wish to protect Jake and Xander from all of this, but this is necessary to find who hurt that young man."

"Everything is okay mom," Jake told his mother with a smile, "I want to help."

Reluctantly Mrs Wilson stepped aside and let them past, calling for Xander to come downstairs. Neither boy had slept, Emily noticed, eyes underlined by dark shadows. Irises blood shot, and every movement weighed down by fatigue. Xander, she noticed, had been crying a lot. No doubt haunted by nightmares. God, she knew how that felt.

"I'll get coffee," Mrs Wilson said once they were all settled in the living-room. She just needed something to do, anything to make her feel useful.

Emily smiled at the boys, while Morgan reassured them that this was all a routine thing and they were not in any sort of trouble. They waited for the boy's mother to return and accepted the coffee offered to them. Emily felt sorry for the woman, it was clear she had no idea how to approach the situation, how do you reassure your children of their safety after seeing such a cruel thing done to another human being? The thing was you couldn't really.

"We need to ask you, exactly what you saw last night," Emily began, "Did you notice anything out of the ordinary, anyone snooping around?"

Reaching for the soda his mother had gotten for him Jake took a great gulp and urged his frazzled nerves to settle. He forced his mind back to the most gruesome moment of his existence and unfortunately ended up shaking his head.

"Xander and I were the only ones out there when we found him," Jake told them, "We didn't see anyone."

"I did."

Jake blinked in shock and looked down at his brother, "What?!"

Xander ran a hand over his face, grateful when his mother put an arm around his trembling shoulders.

"What did you see Xander?" Emily pressed gently, "Anything you can tell us, however small could seriously help us."

"I thought I was seeing things," Xander began, "Over by the north wall, while we waited for the cops, I saw someone. A man, I think, hiding amongst the trees. He was there one second, then gone the next."

"Can you describe him?" Morgan asked.

"He was mostly hidden, but he was roughly my Dad's height, about six foot one, broad like a footballer. I got a bad feeling from him, you know?"

"Yeah kid," Morgan said with a nod, "I know."

The kind of feeling that made your hair stand on end and blood run cold, frigid as the arctic.

* * *

-§-§-

* * *

Jaden was groggy, head thumping as he came too, vaguely aware of someone carrying him. What had happened? He could only remember bits and pieces. Pain, there was a minor ache in his neck, like the kind of throb you get from certain vaccinations and then it all came back to him. Like getting hit in the head by a chunk of plywood, clawing his way to consciousness with a strangled yelp, Jaden looked between the man carrying him and the lumpy bed he was just settled on. He was aware of others in the room, but it was pitch black and even as his eyes adjusted, he couldn't see very much.

The man reached toward him, ghosting a finger along his cheek making Jaden tremble. If he hadn't known he was in trouble before, he certainly did now. Leering down at him, his captor bent and left the lightest kiss upon his forehead.

"Welcome," said the man in the gentlest of whispers, "to your new home."

* * *

-§-§-

* * *

It was so simple to pretend everything was normal, that nothing, not one little thing hurt like broken glass trapped beneath her skin. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, JJ rubbed her swollen belly urging the baby to settle its movements before setting two dog dishes down on the floor. With delighted yips Belle and Copper fell on the food bowls, lapping up the mix of kibble and meat as if they hadn't seen food in days. It made JJ smile, if only for a moment.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat that seemed to have taken up residence there since hearing about her brother, JJ reached for the kettle, it's hissing call the only sound apart from the happy Rottweiler's devouring their breakfasts. Rubbing a hand over her gritty eyes, the thirty-two year old reached for two mugs and sniffling moved the kettle to pour two mugs of tea.

Whether it was exhaustion or her raw misery JJ miscalculated her pouring and when scalding water spilled over her left hand the young woman yelped tears filling her eyes. Instead of getting upset, however, hot ferocious fury engulfed her and with an angry shriek JJ slammed down the kettle and knocked the mugs two plates and cutlery off the counter with one sweep of her hand. Unable to contain it she tossed and threw startling Belle and Copper and only when a body wrapped around hers did she finally stop.

"JJ, JJ stop," Will yelped, his eyes blown wide in panic, his wife was positively hysterical!

"It hurts, oh God my heart, I can't take it Will," her words broke on a sob that wiggled it's way free and when her legs buckled Will sank to the ground with her mindful of the debris surrounding them.

There on the floor JJ dissolved into a state of gut wrenching sobs and rubbing her back Will rocked her trembling frame doing all he could to soothe her. At some point Belle and Copper had bravely approached and snuggled into the couple. Belle had her head nestled the best she could in JJ's lap, nuzzling her pregnant belly, while Copper's warm weight was surrounding Will hazel eyes never leaving the pair.

It was such a sweet sight that it drew a watery laugh from JJ, "Oh you two," she sniffled, "I didn't mean to frighten you."

Tilting her head back JJ was shocked to see tracks of tears staining Will's dusky cheeks and she felt guilty. Her meltdown had caused this.

"Don't look at me like that JJ," Will chided kissing her sweetly wiping away his tears, "you haven't upset me and I'm glad you finally broke down. You cried when the Detectives broke the news to us, but you've said nothing on the matter since. I think this was necessary, you needed to purge your system."

JJ nodded in agreement, "And I know you Will. I can see that raw fear in your eyes, you're terrified they'll find Spencer in the same way. I hate it, hate that one of my brothers died in such a way, but I pray with every fibre of my being that Spencer comes home safe. Am I wrong, to want one brother over the other?"

"No _Cher_, no," Will chided gently, "it's not like that. Of course both of them living would be a blessing, but even one brother home safe is better than none."

"I feel so selfish wanting him to be still alive when we'll be burying Ethan once they release his body to us."

"Now you listen to me Jennifer Jareau," Will stated firmly shoving down his sorrow, "you are not selfish, you are one of the most unselfish people I know and don't you ever think otherwise! Spencer will come home, whether alive or dead just like Ethan he'll come home and we can give them both the peace they deserve."

Dam broken again JJ let out the strangled sob she had been trying to hold in and pulling Will against her she rocked in his arms and she wept for who she once was and for those she had lost.

* * *

-§-§-

* * *

They just kept coming and with each face that took up residence on her board Emily felt a small piece of her clench in horror. Seventeen victims, eleven dead and six missing stared at her from smiling photographs or in the case of the deceased lay in gruesome positions that had even her seasoned gut roiling. They had cases going back since nineteen seventy-two and to Emily's horror this hadn't been an ongoing case! Most of the boys had been identified but unclaimed which just didn't sit right with the Detective.

What also irked her, the killer had no specific type. Tim Johnson had been African American, Ethan had been Caucasian, Mihai Basarab was Romanian and twins Thomas and Connor Fitzgerald were of Irish heritage. No two boys were the same, even their ages varied between fourteen and nineteen and in their appearance there were blondes, brunettes, blue eyes, hazel eyes. It was as if he picked them at random!

"Nothing links them Derek," Emily stated eventually dragging her hand through her choppy locks in frustration, "apart from the odd victims being either siblings or knowing one another, nothing else links them and a killer this organised rarely picks at random."

"There's something Emily," Derek argued scowling at the board, "there's always is. It could take some time, but we'll find it whatever it is."

Yeah but that wasn't good enough for the stormy female. In her gut she knew another boy would be taken, if he hadn't already and according to their findings there were six missing that were missing and could very well be still alive.

"Yo! Emily," hollered a detective across the bullpen earning an irritable scowl, "you need to come with me, a bunch of kids just showed up in hysterics, something about their friend going missing."

What?! Shit! _Shit!_ Without waiting to be told Morgan was hotfooting it after her and tearing past confused cops till they came upon three frantic teenagers between the ages of fifteen and seventeen stood talking all at once while a uniform tried to keep them calm with little success.

"Oh! Prentiss," the frazzled Officer called relieved, "I am glad to see you!"

Before Emily could even open her mouth she was surrounded and a very upset, annoyed young woman was in her face.

"You have to help," the girl told her firmly, "our friend Jaden vanished when we were exploring Central Park! We looked everywhere, but we can't find him anywhere!"

"Easy, easy," Emily said gently taking her elbow and guiding her to a chair, the kid looked fit to drop, "first things first, names and story."

"My name is Lexi; these are my friends Jesse and Simon. We're all on vacation from school with our friend Jaden, b-but none of us saw him since yesterday. We looked everywhere; he's not even answering his cell!"

Damn it all to hell, she hadn't expected the son of a bitch to strike so soon! This could've simply been coincidence, but Emily was no idiot. She knew it was the same guy, she could feel it deep inside of her and for that she wanted to scream. Sixteen, the kid was sixteen according to his comrades and it sickened the Detective to admit they'd never find him before the damage was done, but she hoped they could at least find him alive.

* * *

-§-§-

* * *

Jaden lay on his belly eyes wet with tears; cheeks damp a nasty bruise already marring his face the mottle colouring spreading over his neck to his shoulders and sadly halfway down his back. Jaden cringed and whimpered when his captor shifted beside him, a hand ghosted over his hip caressing his side and when warm lips pressed against the nape of his neck the teenager squeezed his eyes shut and prayed to God it would be over soon. Hours, they'd had been at this hours and though he had fought wildly at the beginning, he no longer had the energy.

"Mmm, I think I've fully broken you in," crooned the male, "such sweetness my love, but I don't want to tire you out. Spencer," he suddenly barked making Jaden jump. He dared a look and with a frown realised he was familiar.

"Yes master," a male responded dully.

"Get him cleaned up would you? And be gentle, he needs it."

The weight suddenly left him and oh thank God for that, Jaden felt like he could finally breathe. But he didn't move, at least not until those heavy footsteps disappeared upstairs a door slamming and locking somewhere. Hearing water sloshing, the bed dipped suddenly and Jaden let out a strangled whine when a warm cloth was ran over his sensitised flesh.

The boy shook violently and heart breaking for him Spencer tried to be as gentle as possible. It wasn't easy to do; the Master had left the poor kid completely raw. He had been beaten, bitten and violently raped, but Spencer didn't so much as cringe at the sight. He had too often seen the same marks on his own body that there was nothing to flinch at.

"I need you to move onto your back, can you do that for me kid?" Spencer asked gently.

Shivering now as the cold set in Jaden nodded and with weak whimpers and broken sobs the teenager managed to get onto his back, "J-Jaden, m-my name i-i-is Jaden."

"Hey Jaden," Spencer responded with a kind smile, "I wish I could say it was nice to meet you, but given the circumstances..."

He trailed off then, concentrating on a particularly nasty bite just below Jaden's ribcage. Jaden understood however. Needing to take his mind off the stinging pain, Jaden cast his eyes over the basement room. He noticed eyes watching him from shadowed corners and each of them was more wary then the last, but also filled with a deep sadness.

"You're Spencer Reid," Jaden suddenly said, "y-you disappeared ten years ago. M-My Dad's a cop...He told me about it. You've been here all this time?"

Spencer sighed and reached for a first aid kit rummaging for gauze and bandage tape, "I wish I could say no, that I've only been trapped here for a few days. But yes, I've been here ten years."

"And the others," Jaden asked softly eyeing his audience hissing when Spencer found a very tender patch of skin.

"Some are here almost as long as me, others not so long," Spencer explained.

"Where exactly is here?"

"We don't know," Bobby interjected suddenly approaching cautiously, "we're in a soundproofed basement that's about as much as we know. We're never let upstairs. I'm Bobby by the way, that's Andy," he introduced pointing to his left, "and then there's Mitch, Richard and Kit."

At the sound of each of their names the men waved smiling weakly at Jaden. Spencer knew Bobby was trying to put Jaden at ease, anything to take his mind off it, but it wouldn't work, nothing kept the nightmares away for long. Jaden smiled the best he could, but he was fast crumbling and just as the first tears spilled free Spencer reached for the boy bundling him close letting him break if only for a little while.


End file.
